Door-operating mechanism



G. R'. LEACH.

DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AuG.1. 1917.-

Patented Apr. 27, 1920.-

GLEN R. LEACH, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

DOOR-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 27, 1920.

Application led August 1, 1917. Serial No. 183,851.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, GLEN R. LEACH, a citizen of the' United States,residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Door-OperatingMechanism, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to operating and control mechanisms particularlyadapted for the opening and closing of doors and similar closures. Theobject of this invention is an improved apparatus of this characterwherein the doors may be opened or closed at either of a multiplicity ofremote points and wherein the operating and controlling mechanisms andconstituent parts thereof are of simple construction and may be easilyand quickly installed and efficiently operated after installation. Tothis end I have devised a door control and operating mechanism which maybe standardized and installed on doors of standard construction, theinstallation being easily and quickly accomplished without necessitatingthe employment of expert mechanics. For a better understanding of thevarious features of this invention reference may be had to theaccompanying drawing wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of the operatingmechanism as attached to a speciic type of door, the novel features ofthe controlling mechanism being more or less diagrammaticallyillustrated; Fig. 2 is a sectional view of Fig. 1 taken on the line 2-2;Fig. 3 is a sectional View on Fig. 2 taken on the line 33; Fig. 4 is alongitudinal sectional view through a part of the operating mechanism;and Fig. 5 is a view illustrating my invention as applied to anoutwardly swingincr door.

Ileferring to the drawings where like numerals refer to similar partsthroughout,

-a portion of a garage is illustrated as embodying a vertically disposedcorner post 1, a side wall 2 and a front cross beam 3 which rests on thevertical posts 1, one lof these door 4 and adjacentthe upper hinge 5 isa vertically disposed metallic bar 6 the upper and lower ends of whichare bent outwardly in a horizontal direction to form lugs or bearings 7for the reception of a swinging frame comprising a horizontally disposedbar 8 and an angle iron bracing bar 9. The metallic bar 8 is pivotallysecured at one end to the upper lug 7 while the corresponding end of theangle iron 9 is bent at 10 to form a horizontal portion pivotallyattached to the lower lug 7 of the vertical bar 6. The upper end of theangle iron 9 is also bent to form a horizontal portion 11 for engagementwith the under side of the horizontal bar 8 near its outer end andthereby supporting the same and preventing sagging. The portion 11 maybe attached to the bar 8 in any suitable manner as by the rivetedconnection illustrated, it being understood that the connection ispreferably a rigid one. The outer end 12 'of the bar 8 is preferablytwisted at right angles to the main body of the bar 8 so that the widthof this end extends vertically. The outer end 12 is further bent atright angles to the main .body of the bar to form a latch 13, the lattercoperating with an opening formed in the upper part of f the door andbeing adapted to pass therethrough to be locked in position by acoperating latch member 14. The latter is mounted for vertical movementin a cylindrical member 15 and a spring 16 is interposed between thelatch member-14 and the bottom of the cylindrical member 15 for urgingthe latch member 14 into engaging relation with the latch 13, thecylindrical member 15 being fixed to the inside face of the door. Forwithdrawing the latch member 14 from the latch 13 a pull rod 17 is fixedto' the under side of the latch member 14 and projects downwardlythrough the bottom of the cylindrical member 15, the lower end thereofbeing formed into an eyelet for the reception of a pull chain 18. Themetallic bar 8 has fixed to the upper side thereof at a point adjacentits hinged end a horizontally disposed metallic strip 19, the latterbeingfdisposedat an angle to' the bar 8 which is slightly greater than aright angle. 'The bar 8 also has fixed near'its outer end and to theupperside thereof a bracing strip 20, the outer end of which is securelyfixed as by means of a rivet 21 to the outer end of the strip 19.

-slidin The strip 20 and the bracing strip 9 maybe secured to the bar 8by a rivet 20a. There is also secured to the outer end of these strips19 and 20 a connecting strip or link 22, this connection being a looseone and vpreferably secured bythe 'same rivet 21.

The other endv of the connecting strip or link 22 is pivotally connectedto a reciprocating Vhead 23, the operating mechanism for which will nowbe described. 'The reciprocating head 23 is mounted for. slidingmovement in the raceway 24 the latter being fixed substantially on thelevel of the top of the door 4 and passing through the longitudinalcenter of the garage, or other housing slightly below the cross beam 3.The reciprocating head 23 is provided with a base 25 for slidingmovement in the raceway 24 and is provided with a head 26 having a pairof forwardlv extending jaws 27 and a pair of rearward y extending jaws28. The forward jaws 27 are adapted to receive therebetween the innerends of connecting links 22, pins`278L passing transversely therethroughfor pivotally attaching 'the connecting links, to the sliding head. .Therear pair of yjaws 28 are also provided with a transverse pin 28a whichis adapted to pivotally `connect therebetween a connecting rod 29, thelatter connecting a piston 30 with the head. The piston -30 .is mountedfor sliding movement in an elongated cylinder 31 which is mounted inalinement with-the race-way 24, the raceway 24 extending backwardly to apoint beyond the rear end of the cylinder and the cylinder restintherein. The cylinder is provided with suitable cylinder. heads 32. Theforward cylinder head should have a suitable air tight closure where theconnecting rod 29 passes through, in the specific embodiment shown thisclosurev embodying a threaded nipple 33 and an internally -threadedclosing cap 34. The piston 30 comprises a central disk 35 and on eitherside thereof a cup 36 placed bottom to bottom thereon. The connectingrod 29 is provided with a reduced end 2 9a and the piston 30 is insertedon this reduced end and clamped securely thereto by means of a nut 37,suitable washer plates 38 being interposed between the bottoms ofthe-cups 36 and the nut 37 and shoulder on the connecting rod 29. Ipreferably interpose shock absorbing springs 39 and 40 to soften theblow or impact at the ends of the reciprocating movement, the spring 39being adapted to cushion the reciprocating head 23, at the end of its.

movement toward the cylinder 3l and the spring 40 being adapted tocushion the piston 30 in its movement against the forward end of thecylinder 31. I provide for operating and closing the door by means oflluid pressure, preferably elastic fluid, as

air, and I provide a novel arrangement for versed in the operatingcylinder 31 at any one of these stations for either opening or closingthe door 4, whichever happens to be necessary. In the specificembodiment shown I have illustrated two stations, but

it is Iunderstood that any number of these stations may be provided, andin each of these stationsI locate a four-way valve 41, and since thesevalves are all vof similar structure it will be suiiicient to refer inparticular to but one of these, it being understood that all of thesevalves are connected in series relation between a source of fluidpressure 42 and the cylinder 31, that is, the air or other fluidpressure in passing from the source 42 to the cylinder 3l must passthrough all of these valves and in like manner the exhaust from thecylinder 31 in its return to the exhaust 48 must pass through all ofthese controlling valves. These valves are for illustrative purposesonly and are more or less diagrammatically illustrated, but essentiallycomprise a cylindrical casing 44 having four openings therein, theseopenings corresponding 'to the pipe connections 45, 46, 47, and 48(station #1). The pipe 45 leads to the source of compressed air, thepipe 48 leads to the exhaust or atmosphere, yand the ipes 46 and, 47lead to the next station. he valve 41 comprises an internally rotatablemember 49 and this member 49 is provided with passagewaysl 50 and 51,these passageways being adapted to establish communication between pipes45 and 46 and between pipes 47 and 48 as illustrated in the drawings orupon operation of the valve to establish@ arrows, the air entering theforward end,

of the cylinder 31 through the pipe 52 while the rear ,end of thecylinder 31 is connected to the exhaust through the pipe 53 and thevalves 41. The piston 31 and sliding head 33 are therefore being drivenin a rearward direction to open the doors 4. It is noted that the air orother fluid pressur in its passage to the cylinder passes through thepipe 45, the'valve at station 1, pipe 46, valve at station 2, and pipe52 to the cylinder and that the exhaust in passing from the rear end ofthe cylinder 31 passes through the pipe 53, the valve at station 2,

the pipe 47 the valve at station 1, and the therefore traverses all ofthe valves of the series in its. passage to thecylinder and in itsreturn therefrom again traverses all of the valves at the variousstations in its passage to the exhaust. It is clear that the operatormay either close or open door at any station which happens to beconvenient, as the operation of any of the valves 4:1 will cause areversal of the air pressure on the opposite sides of the piston 30.

In Fig. 5 is illustrated a door which swings outwardly instead ofinwardly as in the previous igures, the pivoted frame comprising themembers corresponding to the members 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the previous fiures being mounted on the inside face of t e door instead of on theoutside and the connectin strips 19 and 20 being entirely omitte Theconnecting link 22 is pivotally connected directly to the top of the bar8. A latch for locking the pivoted `frame to the door 4 isconventionally illustrated at 13 it being understood that the operationis similar to the operation of the device illustrated in the previousiiglres, for instance by withdrawing the latc key and thereby releasingIthe pivoted frame from the door, the door is free to swing on avertical pivot 7. The doors may therefore be operated by handindependently of the power operating means, the connections being suchthat the power mechanism is not .interfered with. It is noted too thatwhen the doors 4 and 4 have been released from the power operatingmechanism to be manipulated by hand, it is not necessary in order toperform the latching operation to bring the door back into lockingengagement with the operating mechanism, although this may be done ifdesired. In any position of the swinging door relative to the pivotedframes 7, 8 and 9, the latter may be brought back to locking en agementtherewith by manipulating one 0% the valves at the various stations, thelocking member 14 being provided with a bevel edge 14a which is engagedby the beveled end of the latch 13 and caused thereby to be moveddownwardly against the tension of the spring 16, the latter causing thecoperating latch member 14 to snap into engagement withvthe latch 13when the vpivoted operating frame is brought back to locking position.It is noted too that the various partsof the operating and c'ontrollinmechanism are of simple construction 4an may be standardized to beproduced in Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In anapparatus of the type described, the combination of a door, said doorbeing hinged to swing about a vertical axis, a pivoted frame mounted onsaid door and hinged for pivotal movement about a vertical axis, meansfor locking said pivoted frame to said 'door, a reciprocating mechanismfor operating said door and operating connections between said mechanismand said pivoted frame.

2. In an apparatus of the type described, the combination of a doorhinged for swinging movement on a vertical axis, a frame ivoted adjacentto said hinges to said door or swinging movement about a vertical axisindependently of the door, said frame having a latch cooperating with alatching member on said door whereby the pivoted frame may be -xedlylocked to said door and an elongated luid pressure cylinder havingtherein an operating piston, a reciprocating sliding head attached tosaid piston, and operating connections between said sliding head andsaid pivoted frame for actuating said pivoted frame.

3. In an apparatus of the type described, the combination of a doorhinged for swinging movement on a vertical axis, a frame pivotedadjacent to said hinges to said door for swinging movement about avertical axis independently of the door, said frame being adapted toswingv against the face of said door and having a latch projectingtherethrough copera'ting with a latching member on the opposite side ofsaid door, whereby the pivoted frame may be ixedly locked to said door,and an elongated fluid pressure cylinder having therein an operatingpiston, a reciprocating sliding head attached to said piston, andoperating connections between said sliding head and said pivoted framefor actuating said pivoted frame,

4. In an apparatus of the type described,-

thecombination of a door and door support, said door being hinged at oneedge to said sup ort for swinging movement on a vertica axis; ahorizontally disposed bar loosely attached at one end to said door forpivotal movement thereon on a vertical axis closely adjacent to saidfirst named pivotal axis, and the -other end of said bar having a latchwhich coperates with a latching member fixed to the said door, areciprocating operating mechanism and a link connection between saidreciprocating mf-chanism and said bar.

5, In an appara-tus of the type described,

' reciprocatin the combination vof an upright post, a door hingedthereto for swinging movement .about a vertical axis, a horizontallydisposed member loosely attached at one end to the opposite face of saiddoor for pivotal movement in a horizontal plane, the point of attachmentbeing closely adjacent the hinges of the door, the free end ofsaidfmember being bent at right angles to the main body thereof to forma` latch, said door having an opening for receiving said latch andhaving on the opposite side from the member a spring pressed coperatinglatching member, whereby said horizontally disposed member may bedisengaged for pivotal movement independent of the door or may be lockedthereto for movement therewith, a horizontally disposed raceway mountedat right angles to said door and on a level with said horizontallydisposed member, a member slidable back and forth in sai raceway and alink connection between said reciprocating member and said horizontallydisposed member, said door having a slot therein for accommodating saidllnk connection. A

6. In an apparatus of the type described, the combination of an uprightpost, a door hinged thereto for swinging movement about a vertical axis,a horizontally disposed metallic strip loosely attached at one end tothe opposite face of said door for pivotal movement in a horizontalplane, the point lof attachment-being closely adjacent the hinges of thedoor, the free end of said member being twisted into ar vertical planeand being bent at right angles to the main body thereof to form a latch,said door having an opening for receiving said latch and having on theopposite side from the member la spring pressed co erating latchingmember, whereby said horizontally disposed strip ma be'disengaged forpivotal movement in ependent of the vdoor or maybe locked theretoformovement therewith, a horizontally disposed raceway mounted .at rightangles to said door and on a level with said horlzontally disposedstrip, a reciprocating member slidablel back and forth in said raceway,an elongated cylinder in alinement with said raceway, a piston thereinconnected with said reciprocating member,

a link connection between said reciprocating member and saidhorizontally disposed member, said door having a slot therein foraccommodating said link connection.

7. In a mechanism of the type -set forth, the combination of a pivotedframe and a support therefor adapted tobe attached to a swinging4 doorat a point closely adjacent to the hinges thereof, said frame beingadapted for. pivotal movement in a horizon- Ital plane onsaid support,of a latching membertadapted to be attached to said door, said\pivotedframe having a latch 4member hinged on one face thereof to said post fora swinging movement on a' vertical axis, a vertically disposedsupporting bar attached to the opposite face of said door and having itsends out-turned for the purpose described; a horizontally disposedmember and a bracing member pivotally connected at one end to the saidout-turn ends, the other end of. said bracing member being attached tosa1d horizontally disposed member at a point intermediate its ends, saiddoor having a transverse opening adjacent to lthe free end of thehorizontally disposed member, the outer end of said horizontallydisposed member being bent at right angles to the main body thereof andadapted to enter said opening and enga ea spring pressed latch on theopposite si e thereof; a horizontally disposed elongated fluid pressurecylinder adapted to be .supported on a level with said horlzontallydisposed member, a raceway in alinement therewith, a reciprocating headin said racewa vandoperatively connected with said cylin er, and a linkconnection between said horizontally disposed member and saidreciprocating head.

9. In an apparatus of the type described, the combination of an' uprightpost, a door hinged on one face thereof to said post for a swingingmovement on a vertical axis,l a vertically disposed supporting barattached to the opposite Fface of said door but adjacent the door liingeand havingits ends out-turned for the -purpose described; a horizontallydisposed member and a bracing member pivotally connected respectively atone end tothe said out-'turn ends, the other end of said bracing memberbeing attached .to said horizontally disposed member at a .pointintermediate its ends, said door having a transverse opening adjacent tothe free 'end of the horizontally disposed member,

the outer end of said horizontally disposed member being bent at rightangles to the main body thereof and'adapted to enter said 'opening andengage a spring pressed latch in said raceway and operatively connectedwith said cylinder, and connections between said horizontally disposedmember and'said reciprocating head comprising a pair of bracing stripsattached together at one end and having their free ends connected withthe opposite ends of said horizontally disposed member and a linkconnection between said sliding head and the point where said bracinstrips are connected together.

10. n an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a doorhinged for swinging movement on a vertical axis, a frame pivotedadjacent 'to the hinged edge of said door for swinging movement about avertical axis independently of the door, said frame being pivoted to theinner side of said door and being adapted to swing against the innerface thereof, said frame having a latch coperating with a latchingmember fixed to the inner face of the door whereby the pivotedframe maybe fixedly locked to the inner face thereof, an elongated -luid pressurecylinder having therein an operating piston, a reciprocating slidinghead attached to said piston, and operating connections between saidsliding head and said pivoted frame.

11. In an apparatus of the characteridescribed, the combination of adoor hinged for swinging movement about a vertical axis, a frame pivotedadjacent to the hinged edge of said door for swinging movement about avertical axis independently of the door, said frame being pivoted to theinner side of said door and being adapted to swing against the innerface thereof, said frame having a latch coperating ,with a latchingmember fixed to the same side of said door whereby the pivoted frame maybe fixedly locked to the inner side of said door, and power operatingdevices connected with said pivoted frame and mounted adjacent thereto.

12. In an apparatus of the type described, the combination of an uprightpost, a door lhinged thereto for swinging movement about a verticalaxis, a horizontally disposed member loosely attached at one end to theopposite face of said door for pivotal movement in a horizontal plane,the point of attachment being closely adjacent the hinges of the door,the free end of said member being bent at rightv angles to the main bodythereof to form a latch, said door having an opening for receiving saidlatch and having on the opposite side from the member a coperatinglatching niember, whereby said horizontall disposed member may bedisengaged or pivotal movement independent of the door or may be lockedthereto for movement therewith, a horizontally disposed raceway mountedat right angles to said door and on a level with said horizontallydisposed member, a reciprocating member slidable back and forth in asaid raceway and a link connection between said reciprocating member andsaid horizontally disposed member,

said door having a slot therein for accom-- modating said linkconnection.

13. In an apparatus of the t described, the combination of a swin ingoor, a frame pivotally mounted on sai door and hinged for pivotalmovement independent of the movement of said door, means for lockingsaid pivoted frame to said door against independent swinging movement,'a reciprocating mechanism'for operating said door, and operativeconnections between said mechanism and said pivoted frame.

14. In an apparatus of the type described, the combination of a doorhinged for swinging movement about an axis, a frame mounted on said doorand pivoted thereto adjacent to the hinges of said door for independentswinging movement about an axisparallel to that of the swinging movementof the door, means for locking said frame to said '|door againstindependent swinging movement, a reciprocating mechanism for operatingsaid door, and operating connections between ,said mechanism and saidpivoted frame.

15. In an apparatus of the type described, the combination of a door forswinging movement, a frame pivoted adjacent to said hinges to said doorfor swinging movement about an axis independently of the door, saidframe having a latch coperating with a latching member on said doorwhereby the pivoted frame may be fixedly locked to said door and anelongated fluid pressure cylinder having therein an operating piston, areciprocating sliding head atv at one end to said door for pivotal move-.ment thereon on an axis closely adjacent to said first named pivotalaxis, and the other end of said bar having a latch which coperates witha latching member fixed to the said door, a reciprocating operatingmechanism and a link connection between said reciprocating mechanism andsaid bar.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature.

GLEN R. LEACH.

